My wife poured acid on me, tried to electrocute me — Police officer narrates horror ordeal

When police constable Dan Matakaya got home on September 21, 2013, he had no idea his life was about to change for good.

Tired from his overnight shift in Kisii town, the officer went straight to bed.

A few minutes later, his wife woke up and poured something on his face. The burning sensation made him realize that he might have suffered an acid attack and had to act quickly.

Matakaya quickly jumped out of his bed to try and rinse off the acid but to his surprise, he was electrocuted.

Apparently, his wife had connected naked wires and poured water on the floor. At this point, Matakaya screamed for help and his neighbours came to his rescue.

By the time they arrived, his wife had already left but surrendered to police two days later.

Matakaya’s face had been destroyed. He survived the attack but the burns were so bad that he lost his eyesight.

He has been in and out of hospital since the incident but the matter is in court.

“The matter is in court but I do not know when it will come to an end. I was in hospital for a long time and this delayed the case to some extent.

“I was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital for six months and they assigned a nurse to take care of me for another six months.

“I underwent several surgeries at Nairobi West Hospital and later went back to KNH,” he said.

Matakaya admitted that it was hard to accept his new situation but doctors encouraged him throughout.

Although some of his friends deserted him, he maintains that he is optimistic and has learnt to live with his condition.

He is currently based at Industrial Area (as a police officer) and has already learnt braille as well as basic skills he needs to do chores when at home.

Matakaya is currently undertaking a course in Counselling Psychology to help him heal as well as help others who might have gone through the same.

He has also started the Dan Shieshie Organisation to prevent over the counter sale of acids as well as fight for victims of domestic violence.